Skip to main content
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1975 Jul;72(7):2488–2492. doi: 10.1073/pnas.72.7.2488

Paleopleurocapsa wopfnerii gen. et sp. nov.: A Late Precambrian alga and its modern counterpart

Andrew H Knoll *, Elso S Barghoorn , Stjepko Golubić
PMCID: PMC432792  PMID: 16592257

Abstract

Silicified dolomite of the approximately one billion year old Skillogalee Dolomite of the Adelaide Geosyncline, South Australia, contains organically preserved microfossils of a structurally complex, crustose pleurocapsalean cyanophyte, herein described as Paleopleurocapsa wopfnerii. Although actual cell contents have been degraded, lamellar sheath material faithfully preserves the morphology of the alga. Comparison with specimens of the modern genus Pleurocapsa Thuret demonstrates affinities at the family level and quite possibly even generic identity.

Keywords: paleontology, phycology

Full text

PDF
2488

Images in this article

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Barghoorn E. S., Schopf J. W. Microorganisms from the Late Precambrian of Central Australia. Science. 1965 Oct 15;150(3694):337–339. doi: 10.1126/science.150.3694.337. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Barghoorn E. S., Tyler S. A. Microorganisms from the Gunflint Chert: These structurally preserved Precambrian fossils from Ontario are the most ancient organisms known. Science. 1965 Feb 5;147(3658):563–575. doi: 10.1126/science.147.3658.563. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Glaessner M. F., Preiss W. V., Walter M. R. Precambrian columnar stromatolites in australia: morphological and stratigraphic analysis. Science. 1969 May 30;164(3883):1056–1058. doi: 10.1126/science.164.3883.1056. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Nagy L. A. Transvaal Stromatolite: First Evidence for the Diversification of Cells about 2.2 x 109 Years Ago. Science. 1974 Feb 8;183(4124):514–516. doi: 10.1126/science.183.4124.514. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Schopf J. W., Barghoorn E. S. Alga-like fossils from the early precambrian of South Africa. Science. 1967 Apr 28;156(3774):508–512. doi: 10.1126/science.156.3774.508. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America are provided here courtesy of National Academy of Sciences

RESOURCES